OERcamp global: Review and Impact

From December 9 to 11, 2021, an international OERcamp took place for the first time. So far, they have taken place in German-speaking countries and provided an important platform for practitioners to exchange experiences and ideas. The UNESCO has highlighted the importance and driving force of OERcamps in the German-speaking community and organized the first OERcamp globally in cooperation with – how could it be otherwise – Jöran und Konsorten Agentur für zeitgemäße Bildung.

The program was available throughout due to the time difference. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and also in terms of flexibility, the conference format with Zoom was a very good fit. Karaoke evenings and puns are of course part of the OERcamp. During the 48 hours, a wide variety of keynotes, sessions and workshops were offered. Participants and speakers could register for free and received a zoom link to the Plenary Hall. From there, break-out rooms could be entered, in each of which one event took place and further break-out rooms could be set up.

OESA e.V. hosted a session on Public Spaces as Open Spaces (in English) on December 11. We used the example of the robolab of the public library in Hamburg (Germany) to present the design of public spaces according to the OPEN definition and discussed which opportunities and challenges arise. Important was the field of community management: On the websites of public institutions, comment functions are often deactivated because it is time-consuming and there are legal and ethical issues to consider. This raises the question of positioning in the area of tension of public communication between freedom of speech and censorship. We take this as an opportunity to develop a concept for the implementation of OPEN approaches with a list of conditions for success.

We are very excited about the expansion of OERcamps internationally and look forward to future ones. Cheers!

Open as standard! But what does “open” mean?

We encounter openness in various contexts: The German government wants to do more for open data, open source software is supposed to be better and literature is supposed to be accessible online through open access – what is actually behind this?

“We are open!”

When something is “open”, it expresses an idea, a conviction. At its core, openness is based on an egalitarian understanding of collaboration and thrives on the conviction of the quality of the many. In short, openness means that something is accessible, free and transparent. This is intended to enable, for example, more communality and accessibility. The idea comes from software development: software packages such as Microsoft Office have to be purchased, and fixing bugs in the software and developing new functions is the exclusive responsibility of Microsoft. The source code, in a sense the “blueprint” of the software, is secret. Open alternatives such as LibreOffice publish their source code so that bugs can be worked out and new functions can be programmed worldwide. With open software, the risk of viruses is minimized and costs kept low.

Free as in free speech, not as in free beer

Open does not necessarily mean that something is free. Rather, it’s about being able to make better use of data and media: Take the example of open science. Behind the term is a scientific practice in which access to scientific publications, research data and software is facilitated through collaboration – with the simple aim of advancing research. Quality assurance and improved information supply are just some of the keywords when it comes to sharing research data worldwide. This process encompasses a whole range of implementation possibilities: from publishing lab reports and datasets in open networks, to making scientific materials available as open resources, to opening up scientific processes to the public. However, if all this is done under the condition of dissemination and copying, the question arises as to how intellectual property can nevertheless be protected.

How can this be compatible with data protection?

Openness as a lived ideal clearly excludes an obligation to freely use one’s own data and media. Everyone should decide for themselves to what extent something can be used. This is made possible by Creative Commons licenses (by the way, the copyright symbol is not legally valid in Germany!): Different license categories specify, for example, whether something may be used for commercial purposes, whether something may be multiplied, or whether the source must be named.

Data security, comprehensibility and transparency, but above all the topics of accessibility, barrier-free access and flexibility guide the complex OPEN.

What does that mean?

In schools, for example, teaching materials can be improved by teachers sharing their lesson plans, proofreading each other’s work, expanding assignments or adapting them to age groups. In this way, the same subject matter can be taught better and better, instead of having to start from scratch every time to prepare a lesson. The key here is not just to use the findings of others for your own purposes, but to contribute something yourself. The digital transformation that everyone is talking about does not simply mean that texts are being digitized and more computers are being used in schools. Rather, it is accompanied by an essential change in values that relates to various professions, but also strongly to personal attitudes. Therefore, an awareness of digital events and a critical reflection with current topics around media and digitization are of great importance.

A look into the future

For sustainable societies, the following will apply: Openness as the fundamental engine of all social practices.

Open is innovative because it always creates new spaces for collaboration, and open is disruptive because it always overturns established ways, systems and structures. Openness is the real core competence of the so-called “21st century skills.” As a social practice, openness is always political, never private. Especially not when we are increasingly talking about topics like quantancomputing and artificial intelligence, open data and borderless data traffic. When we talk about promoting digital education, this alone is far from sufficient, because simply transferring educational resources and processes from analog to digital in fact builds up barriers to competence and in many cases makes access to education more difficult due to the predominantly profit-oriented offerings.

In order to advance free access to knowledge, political and economic incentives are needed to place open access software, open education and open science at the center of education policy action. UNESCO put the topic of OER on its agenda a long time ago, and the EU should do the same. At OESA, we see ourselves as an independent institution for which openness is a top priority and we drive it as part of our work.

Event: University:Future Festival – Open for discussion

Where is higher education headed in these times? Where are futures emerging that are already groundbreaking for us today? How is higher education re-imagining itself on the path to the “blended university”? These and other questions will be addressed by the University:Future Festival 2021 from November 2 – 4, 2021 under the motto “Open for Discussion”, the largest event of its kind in the German-speaking world. Over three days, impulses will be given and future topics such as hybrid learning, diversity, artificial intelligence and future skills will be discussed. Of course, OESA will also be there!

The Festival

The University:Future Festival is organized by the Hochschulforum Digitalisierung (HFD) in partnership with the Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre (StIL). It is aimed at everyone who is engaged with the present and future of academic education: Teachers, students, university management and staff; activists and representatives from civil society, politics and administration; artists and scientists; EdTech founders and journalists. The festival with over 350 speakers and hundreds of program points will take place online in English and German; participation is free of charge.

Our program: OPEN as a standard

On November 02, we’ll talk about openness as an overall concept, openness as the fundamental driver of all social practices, and open source software as a global movement that spans from knowledge and education to urban gardening.

Learn more about the importance of Open Data, Open Knowledge, Open Education, Open Access and Co. for society, education and our future:

02.11.2021 17:30 Lightning Talk: the future is OPEN!

Program, tickets and more information: https://festival.hfd.digital/en/

Access

On the event platform of the festival, the Lightning Talk can still be viewed free of charge for a while afterwards.

We have also provided the most important content and findings of our talk on the future-proof concept “OPEN” for you to read in the next article.

Situation and development of school clouds in Germany

The corona-induced homeschooling or distance learning has put learning with digital media in the focus of public discussion and made clear differences in the use of school clouds in Germany visible. The Institute for Information Management at the University of Bremen (ifib) was therefore commissioned by the Telekom Foundation to conduct a systemic inventory of school learning platforms and IT strategies in all German states and five German municipalities. The recently published study addresses the questions:

  • What is in the various learning platforms that the federal states and also some municipalities offer their schools?
  • How are the systems organized technically?
  • Who provides pedagogical and technical support?
  • How much do these solutions differ from one another?

In addition to an overview of the solutions used, the study also provides a model that systematizes all parts of a learning management system (LMS) and shows what opportunities the respective learning platforms offer students, how the operation of the systems is organized, and who provides pedagogical and technical support. Bavaria, Bremen, Hamburg and Saxony showed a broad set-up of digital media for teaching. In other states, however, different solutions exist side by side in some cases.

The study’s final finding:

There will probably not be a nationwide uniform school cloud solution in Germany – and it is not necessary as long as there are common standards and functioning interfaces for all existing learning management systems in the future.

The benefits of LMSs should have been clear at the latest since the school closures, even though Germany was very late in getting involved with learning platforms by international standards. As true all-rounders, school clouds or learning management systems support teaching and learning processes, simplify organizational processes, and provide a technical basis for communication between teachers, learners, parents, and the school through supplementary offerings from external providers (e.g., by means of video conferencing systems or messenger services).

We at OESA e.V. recommend the following, open source-based systems:

  1. Moodle
  2. ILIAS (developed at the University of Cologne)
  3. and StudIP.

All three are hosted on the school’s own server, are therefore DSGVO-compliant, free of charge and free of advertising, and make it possible to control access rights for the various instances through closed user groups. However, setting up learning environments is highly dependent on the IT infrastructure available in each case; both Moodle and Ilias must be set up and hosted as closed systems on their own servers. Those looking for lower-threshold offerings will have to reckon with a loss of functionality. However, in order to establish open source systems, such as Moodle, in the school context in a long-term, sustainable and future-proof manner, much greater investment in the know-how of the institutions and the competencies of the people is required in addition to the provision of material resources for IT equipment. We have compiled further information on LMS and their didactically meaningful use here.


Do we need alternatives to Padlet?

Recently, Padlet was classified as problematic in terms of data protection by the LDA Brandenburg. The educational server Berlin-Brandenburg now also advises against the use of Padlet. Since then, the use of Padlet has been discontinued at many schools in Germany, which is regretted by many teachers who have increasingly used digital tools for teaching since the beginning of the Corona pandemic and homeschooling and are enthusiastic about the intuitive and playful design as well as the many possibilities Padlet offers.

The problem with the interactive pinboard tool: data protection.

Padlet is not GDPR-compliant. The platform originates from the United States, where the General Data Protection Regulation does not apply. Previously, use of the platform in a school context ran under the “Privacy Shield,” under which U.S. providers had to comply with European data protection regulations. This was overturned and since July 2020, no personal data may be transferred to the United States. However, Padlet shares data with third-party providers, such as Google, when it is used. The exact data content is largely unknown, but Padlet can store and process personal data such as shared content, IP addresses or movement profiles by the company or third-party providers. Thus, the risk outweighs the benefit for data protectionists.

But there is also a way to use Padlet without data protection problems. Padlet can also be used without an account. Instead of registering, you can also log in via a guest account to avoid creating your own profile. Students can also access Padlet through a link provided by their teachers. If Padlet is used at school on school devices without the students logging in to other services, their usage behavior remains anonymous as long as no personal data is entered into Padlet. If Padlet is used with a school end device via a private Internet connection, it is not clear what data is collected by the platform operator. However, as soon as the platform is used via private end devices, the provider can store personalized data that can be used to identify the user.

Padlet can therefore only be used on school devices without hesitation. However, if you want or have to avoid using Padlet, you can take a look at the following alternatives or browse through our Toolbox yourself:

1. Pinnit is a data-saving digital pinboard that has many features that Padlet also offers. Collaborative work can be done here and, for example, posts or ideas can be collected. In addition, published contributions can be commented and rated. Only the most necessary data is stored on a German server during use. Furthermore, no personalizing registration is necessary for use and IP addresses are pseudonymized.

2. Taskcards is a German alternative to Padlet. The platform is also DSGVO-compliant and its servers are located exclusively in Germany. Registration is also possible via a guest account. The design and the user interface are very similar to the American model. Many features that are available on Padlet are also offered by Taskcards. Private pinboards can be created here, which can also be published if required. It works with texts, images, links and various file attachments.

Open Source Messengers: Alternatives to WhatsApp

Digital communication has become indispensable. Professional and private life is shared via messenger and enables an exchange regardless of location. How individual messengers handle the messages, images, audio and files sent is therefore a fundamental question that every user should address. 

This is not the first time that the social messenger service WhatsApp has come under criticism for its data protection policy. At the latest with the acquisition by Facebook, concerns about data security have repeatedly become part of the public debate.

As of May 15, new data protection rules will come into effect at Whatsapp in Germany, which will allow WhatsApp to share the data of its users with Facebook and pass it on to third parties outside the EU.

We are currently reading a lot about Telegram as an alternative. Since messages can be sent to several thousand people at the same time, the Dubai-based messenger has become the preferred communication channel for conspiracy theorists. It is often declared as open source, but only the client is open and the data is stored on unknown servers; the messages are not end-to-end encrypted.

So the question to leave Whatsapp remains open. In the following, we therefore present five open-source alternatives to WhatsApp that take the privacy of their users more seriously:

1. Movim

Movim is based on XMPP, the open standard for messaging. Web-based and decentralized, it can communicate with other applications via XMPP. In addition to the typical messenger functions, such as chats, video chats, editing options and night mode, Movim also offers the options of screen sharing, browsing hashtags, automatically saving message drafts or publishing articles.

2. Session

Like WhatsApp, Session offers a chat function, group chats, voice messages, and end-to-end encryption of chats. Unlike WhatsApp, however, no phone number is needed to use it. Session is blockchain-based and decentralized.

3. Element

Similar to Session, Element does not require a phone number for the common messenger functions. In addition to chat, video chat and telephony, Element also offers the option of joining private or public groups. Element operates decentralized via matrix network.

4. Threema

No phone number is needed to use Threema either. Telephony, video chats, and chats that can be provided with polls are end-to-end encrypted. Likewise, groups can be created and managed. The app comes from Switzerland, which is known for its excellent data protection.

5. Signal

Signal is particularly impressive due to its user-friendliness. The app offers the usual messenger functions (chats, group chats, video chats, telephony), which are all end-to-end encrypted, and does not collect any data except for the phone number.

So there are some alternatives to WhatsApp that not only offer better data protection, but are also openly available. The decision between switching completely or using several messengers depends on the individual situation. But the argument that you can no longer reach all your contacts without WhatsApp will become invalid as soon as enough people use open alternatives. So get active and switch to open source!

You can find all information in a tabular overview in our Toolbox – just search for “messenger”..

Online Hackathon “We Hack the Summer Semester 2020!”

On May 6 and 7, 2020, more than 900 participants pooled their energy, ideas and skills and developed digital solutions for university teaching in Germany in working groups. The free format was organized by the Hochschulforum Digitalisierung, the KI-Campus and the DAAD and acts as a pilot for the DigiEduHack in November. In the roles of hacker and mentor, groups found themselves assigned to challenges that were assigned to one of the 15 topic clusters:

  1. Qualification & support of teachers
  2. Digital teaching in implementation
  3. Collaborative work and interaction (synchronous and asynchronous)
  4. Digital tools and data protection
  5. Digital Exams
  6. Digital student advising
  7. Digital campus life
  8. Peer support/help-seeking among students
  9. Internationalization & Virtual Mobility
  10. Practical study components & practical projects
  11. Research
  12. University management (e.g. change process & third mission)
  13. Digital student participation
  14. Educational equity & accessibility
  15. AI in digital higher education

A total of 76 projects came about, which can now be viewed publicly on incom. Communication took place via the mattermost platform, and there was a joint introduction and conclusion via Youtube livestream. OESA e.V. has developed the Toolbox, an independent and collaborative overview.

Open education in schools- a case study from Germany

There are now various measures to bring schools into the digital age: We have the Digital Pact, and there are also a number of projects and associations. It makes you wonder why digitization in schools has been so slow to get off the ground.

But at least one school in Germany is getting the hang of it. Using the Realschule am Europakanal in Erlangen as an example, educational scientist Celestine Kleinesper explains how openness and digitization can be put to good use. In this case, this includes not only teaching how to use hardware and software, but also which teaching/learning contexts certain tools and formats are suitable for. Uniformity, capacity, and the willingness of school management, teachers, parents, and students are essential.

The presentation:

Although this example exists in practice, many schools are not (yet) so fit in terms of digitization. In the discussion after the input, a number of theories emerge as to which aspects have an inhibiting effect. One recurring finding: the cultural sovereignty of the states in Germany, i.e., the fact that each state. Among the participants in the discussion group, 4 federal states shared their experiences. It also became clear that digitization is often confused with mechanization; equipping every school with smartboards and tablets therefore only makes sense if the relevant skills are imparted to those involved.

Shaping open education at universities

Flipped Classroom. What can you imagine by it?

Up to now, knowledge has been imparted during university face-to-face events and the application of the knowledge has been tested individually and outside the university. At the weekly input lunch in April 2020, the change in learning caused by digitization was examined in more detail, which is also becoming noticeable in the university context. For example, the learning locations of theory and application are swapped (‘flipped’): Students acquire the theoretical knowledge on their own before the course in order to then work together in a solution-oriented and case-based manner. In this way, the knowledge transfer is ideally designed, because the interactive work during the attendance time can increase the learning effect.

In this context, social scientist Katharina Mosene presented a number of possibilities for designing innovative university teaching, from live surveys to interactive presentation formats and collaborative tools. She drew on her wide-ranging experience and used teaching/learning concepts that had actually been implemented to illustrate the effectiveness and meaningfulness of open higher education.

In the discussion that followed, specific questions arose about individual tools. The consensus was that there are already a large number of extraordinary tools, but that most lack the knowledge of how to use them effectively or at least the time to deal with them in depth. This is less the case at universities with e-learning offices, eScouts or digital officers – an appeal to the universities!

The presentation on the input can be found here. We thank Katharina Mosene for her encouraging input.

Why do we need open education?

“Open education can be defined as the [educational policy] effort to enable all people to participate in good education. In the Enlightenment tradition, ‘good education’ is defined as maturity: every person should be able to participate in society with his or her own mind and in an active way” [1] . So how must educational processes be designed in order to achieve this goal?

Vocational school teacher Astrid Wittenberg begins her input with this question. As an experienced expert in open education, she is an enrichment for the round of the weekly input lunch in April 2020, especially because of the current challenges posed by Corona. She points out the need for a change in teaching and learning based on digital development: Knowledge and ideas always exist, but the ways to disseminate, implement, and develop them are changing. The Internet makes it possible to exchange information worldwide and simultaneously. This also changes the nature and understanding of education away from a society that learns by heart from books to a digital transfer of knowledge. This also requires new competencies; in this context, Wittenberg introduces the 4Cs [2]: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and Critical Thinking. On this basis, a discussion ensues about how these competencies can be learned and what opportunities and difficulties they entail. The participants in the discussion agree that the restrictions, not only, but especially, in state institutions such as schools and universities are often a hindrance. Certain guidelines on which programs to use, time and money as limited resources, and the lack of motivation to explore meaningful alternatives inhibit the move towards more open education. The conclusion of the discussion: much is still (or already) open. This is in part tedious, but for the most part gratifying, because there is much to be shaped. Therefore, it is important for the future to promote an awareness of open education and to conduct corresponding research.

The presentation on the input can be found here. We thank Astrid Wittenberg for her inspiring input.